Walking a bit more we happened upon the infamous Khao San road - it may be a backpacker's paradise but not when you are a 54 year old backpacker and we walked as fast as possible through it.
Yesterday we visited Wat Pho - yet another temple but of course this one is superlative and we wandered around in awe of the fabulous decoration, statuary and colours shining in the sun. (Photos at the end as they are taking 5 mins each to upload.) The reclining buddha is 46m long but I was disappointed that the soles of the feet which are covered in mother of pearl and buddhist symbolism were undergoing renovation so were hidden under scaffolding.
Mad dogs and Englishmen - despite the heat we climbed 344 steps up the Golden Mount for a view over the city - the area we are concentrating our sightseeing on is bereft of skyscrapers I'm glad to say.
The flower market (which included fruit and veg) was our next stop and provided lunch on the hoof.
On the way back for a late siesta we found possibly the last few craftspeople hand making monk's alms bowls (they are now mass produced).
In the evening there was a Cultural Festival in celebration of the King's 70 years on the throne and the Queen's birthday. There was kite flying and when the sun went down the kites lit up underneath, food and craft stalls, demonstrations of traditional thai sports and games and singing and dancing on a stage. We got some food from a stall then followed this by some lovely fruit salad and a bag of fresh pineapple and I had the most delicious drink ever; runny honey mixed with freshly squeezed lemons, soda added and poured over crushed ice. We watched some of the singing and a thai lady (possibly under the influence) engaged us in a conversation which we think ended with her asking for money so we just pretended not to understand. The Festival is on again tonight so that lemon drink will be on the menu for definite.
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